Better Jobs for Chinese Women with Family
Responsibilities: Policy Options
Xiao-yuan Dong
University of Winnipeg
CEA annual conference
June 1, 2013
World Bank Report (2013):
Three main characters of good jobs
 Living standards
- Need both money and time
 Productivity
-
Human resources produced daily and across generations
 Social cohesion
-
Women’s household responsibilities - major contributor
Gender - a cross-cutting issue.
Chinese women’s market work and
household responsibility
 Chinese women bear major responsibilities for housework
 Unpaid housework amounts to 30% of China’s GDP: 70%
contributed by women.
 However, the value of housework is not recognized.
 Chinese government’s concern : to find the most efficient
way of restructuring the productive economy
 They assume that social reproduction will adjust accordingly.
Social protection for women’s reproductive role
 China’s economic reforms : substantial cutbacks on the
support of government and the employer for care
provisioning
 Public spending on social services is low, even by developing country
standards
a. Public spending on education as share of GDP:
China is 3.1%, lower than the level in other countries.
b. Pre-school enrolment rate (3-6 years):
China in 2008: 47%
Chile in 2006: 75.7% Mexico in 2008: 93.1%
Social protection for women’s reproductive role
 Social protection for women’s reproductive role
have been severely eroded.
 Under pressure for profits, enterprises are
increasingly reluctant to accommodate workers’
care-giving needs.
 Protective labor regulations are not implemented in non-public
sectors;
 Export-oriented FDI and private firms hire primarily young, single
migrant women;
Female college graduates face labor market discrimination;
Workers work long hours and overtime work is widespread.
Patriarchal values became more
influential
Percentage of people who agree "Men should play a major role in society while women
should play a major role at home" Surveys of Chinese Women's Status (2000 and 2010)
Struggle of working women : Labour
participation
Working hours and overtime work,
2008
Men
Women
Working hours/week
45.7
43.1
% working ≥ 48 hours
44.9
38.1
Working hours/week
48.0
47.7
% working ≥ 48 hours
54.9
53.6
Working hours/week
51.0
49.5
% working ≥ 48 hours
61.1
58.5
All occupations
Manufacturing
Commercial services
Source: China Labor Force Survey
Time allocation among men and women
20 to 49 years old, by sector (hours/week)
120.0
111.4
103.3
102.4
96.6
100.0
80.0
58.7
60.0
46.0
48.0
43.1
40.0
23.4
21.5
20.0
10.6
6.9
0.0
Men
Women
Men
Urban
Women
Rural
Market work
Housework
Source: 2008 China Time Use Survey
Non-work
Participation rates of men and women
in market work, housework and non-work activities over 24
hours on a weekday
Men
Women
Source: 2008 China Time Use Survey from Qi and Dong (2013)
Housework effects on the monthly earnings of men
and women in non-agricultural sectors
Men
Maximum
duration of
market work
time
0.015***
0.023***
-0.090***
Market work
being
interrupted
-0.104***
-0.006***
No. of times
switching
between MW
and HW
Housework
time
Women
-0.005***
-0.004***
-0.003***
-0.005***
-0.004***
-0.004***
-0.004***
Gender differences in the housework indicators account for 28% of the
gender earnings gap (0.226).
Source: 2008 China Time Use Survey from Qi and Dong (2013)
Earnings differentials between mothers and childless women
in urban China (Fix-effects estimates)
0
-0.1
-0.2
-0.3
-0.4
-0.5
-0.6
-0.7
Source: CHNS from Jia and Dong (2012)
The Log of
Annual
Earnings
The Log of
Hourly
Earnings
% rural men and women aged between 18 and 64 are troubled
By mental health problems in 2010
Source: The Third Survey of Chinese Women’s Status by ACWF
Acute family-work conflicts may have
irreversible demographic consequences
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, International Database.
Policy options
 Need social dialogue:
- Who should be responsible for taking care of children, the disabled
and the elderly?
 Acknowledge and support the care economy in macroeconomic
policy
-
Increase public spending on social services and time-saving infrastructural
investment
Improve access to ECE and daycare programs by parents from disadvantaged
social groups
 Enforce protective labor regulations
 Promote enterprise social responsibility and family-friendly
workplace practice
 Encourage men to take on more family responsibilities
 Increase women’s voice and political representation